Chapter 588 - Talk

Ji Zai was the name that Zhuge Yuan had given Li Huowang as a cover for his true identity.

However, the name now belonged to the Siming controlling the Heavenly Dao of Bewilderment, which was Li Huowang's future.

At first, Li Huowang didn’t know that it was the name of his future self, but the name felt familiar to him.

Li Huowang deduced that the person who had just disappeared like sand was either Ji Zai himself or a part of him.

Li Huowang wasn’t sure if he truly had a conversation with his future self, who was a Siming in the distant future. He could only guess whether that was the case or not.

More importantly, Li Huowang had no idea what Ji Zai had told him before he left.

“I think he’s called Ji Zai,” Li Huowang said.

However, his answer confused even the Chief of the Surveillance Bureau.

Isn’t Ji Zai his own fake name? Was he talking to himself?

While they were both feeling confused, Gao Zhijian and Bai Lingmiao finally arrived at the room. The two sighed in relief upon seeing that Li Huowang was fine.

They were worried about his safety upon realizing that the Chief whom Bai Lingmiao had seen was fake.

“Men! Send some troops and guard this room! Check the identity of anyone who approaches this room!” Gao Zhijian shouted.

Several eunuchs appeared out of nowhere and kneeled before him.

“You don't have to mobilize so many people just to do something like that. I’m fine. Let everyone do what they're supposed to do. You don’t have to keep worrying about me.” Li Huowang pulled the blanket back up and laid down on the bed.

“Senior Li, that Chief was fake!” Bai Lingmiao exclaimed, walking toward Li Huowang with a food box in hand.

“I know.” Li Huowang patted her hands lightly and said, “Don’t worry. Even though I’m heavily injured, I can still fend for myself. Those daring enough to assassinate me might end up dying themselves.”

Li Huowang was confident. After all, he was Ji Zai’s Twisted One at the moment.

Gao Zhijian nodded in agreement. Li Huowang was strong enough to fight Shai Zi, so who could be his match?

“Senior Li... who... was that?” Gao Zhijian asked.

“It was a friend. Don’t worry, it doesn’t concern you,” Li Huowang replied. Then, he sized up Gao Zhijian and nodded in approval. “Not bad. Gao Zhijian, that dragon robe looks great on you.”

Li Huowang didn't bother explaining, as he didn't want the others to worry about him becoming his own Twisted One.

In addition, Li Huowang himself didn’t know when he would become Ji Zai.

It could be a year, ten years, or perhaps he'd become Ji Zai once he was dead, but he didn’t really care. He knew that something like this would happen way before he executed the plan to defeat Shai Zi.

Gao Zhijian scratched his head and looked at Senior Li. The latter still looked the same as always, but something was slightly different about him. Li Huowang's personality had become much more relaxed.

Xuan Pin said nothing.

Gao Zhijian glanced at the Chief and recalled why he had decided to visit Li Huowang. “Senior Li, is Shai Zi... really gone? Will he come back and... control me again?”

Li Huowang recalled the eighteen-sided dice that Yi Donglai had taken away.

"He's gone," Li Huowang said with a nod. 'Don’t worry. He will never return.”

Gao Zhijian sighed in relief. He had faith in Senior Li, and since Senior Li had said so, Shai Zi would definitely never come back.

“Zhijian, prepare a carriage for me to return to Cowheart Village. My wounds are almost healed.”

Gao Zhijian shook his head.

Li Huowang only had his mouth left, so there was no way his wounds were almost healed. “No. There are doctors here, and they can take better care of you. Your wounds are too serious. You need to rest here.”

“It's okay. Why should I rest here? Do you really think that I'll die with this level of injury?” Li Huowang asked, standing up.

Gao Zhijian ran up and carefully shielded Li Huowang’s lotus root head, seemingly afraid that Li Huowang would stumble to the floor and smash it open.

Li Huowang wanted to leave, but Bai Lingmiao dragged him back into the room.

“Senior Li, please stay here. I beg you. We can just go back once your wounds are fully healed. You're too injured to travel right now,” Bai Lingmiao begged.

Li Huowang relented and said, “All right, but at least let me walk around. I need some fresh air.”

Gao Zhijian was willing to let Senior Li do whatever he wanted to do as long as the latter wasn't risking his life doing it.

They talked for a bit before Gao Zhijian asked out of curiosity, “Senior Li, Senior Bai told me that your illness is finally cured. Is it true?”

“Yes, it’s cured.” Li Huowang nodded. “I never thought that it'd be cured just like that.”

Gao Zhijian was genuinely happy for Li Huowang.

Senior Li was a great person, but his illness was the worst among those from Zephyr Temple.

The fact that he was finally cured meant that he could finally live a normal life.

Moreover, Gao Zhijian was the Emperor of the Liang Kingdom, which meant he could fulfill any of Li Huowang's wishes.

“Zhijian, how does it feel being the emperor?” Li Huowang asked.

"Great..." Gao Zhijian smiled. “It feels great. I can eat a ton of good food, even food that I had never seen before. Once your wounds are healed and you can finally eat proper food again, I will let the chefs prepare some of those great dishes for you. Also... I'm going to have... many wives... a hundred wives.”

“That many? You better not tell Puppy, or he'll die from jealousy.”

"No, I have to tell him." Gao Zhijian grinned. “I have to brag my wives to him."

The air in the room mellowed out, and everyone chatted like they were back in Zephyr Temple.

In the end, Xuan Pin had to remind Gao Zhijian of his duties.

Gao Zhijian left the room promptly. He had too many things to learn as the new emperor, so he had no time to waste.

He had just walked out of the room when Xuan Pin said, “I can’t see through him anymore. Your Majesty, please be careful of him.”

Gao Zhijian looked at Xuan Pin with displeasure. “Why? He's Senior Li. He's not going to harm me.”

“I'm not talking about that, Your Majesty. All I'm saying is that it’s difficult to deduce the hearts of other people. You have to understand that Shai Zi had become the Dragon Vein, but he still managed to defeat him. In other words, he can definitely deal with you quite easily. Can you really sleep peacefully despite knowing that? Also, he has a relationship with the Saintess of the White Lotus Sect. Of course, I've already removed the White Lotus Sect from our bounty list, as they've assisted us greatly. However, you must ponder whether interacting with them is worth the risk.

"Of course, the decision is still up to you. You are the emperor, after all. I'm just the Chief of the Surveillance Bureau. This is out of my jurisdiction, but I still felt obligated to warn you for the sake of the Liang Kingdom.”

Gao Zhijian’s face fell as he started walking away.

“The job of the emperor is hard, but it can be easy. If you have something you don’t understand, just go ahead and ask the Dragon Vein. They can teach you everything—from how to control the officials, how to handle national affairs, to handling the sects and factions scattered throughout the palace.”

Gao Zhijian remained silent as he listened to Xuan Pin's words.